May 23, 2008
Business Groups Decry Passage Of Nurse Ratio Bill
By Matthew L. Brown
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts , the Massachusetts Hospital Association and other business groups are furious over the state House of Representatives' passing of a law that mandates set nurse-to-patient ratios for hospitals.
The house passed the bill Thursday. Its next stop is the state senate. AIM, the greater Boston Chamber, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation have called the proposed law "ill advised, counterproductive and costly." The bill would charge the state Department of Public Health with setting nurse staffing ratios.
Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the MHA, said hospitals "cannot abide by any piece of legislation that does not allow for the flexibility needed to tailor health care to meet the needs of patients."
In a more dire statement, Peter I. Buerhuas, a Vanderbilt University professor working with the MHA, said minimum staffing ratios would "lead to the self-inflicted economic, political and social destruction of the nursing profession."
Nursing unions support the legislation as a way to alleviate chronic under-staffing and improve patient safety at hospitals. Click here to read a WBJ story on the issue.
The house passed the bill Thursday. Its next stop is the state senate. AIM, the greater Boston Chamber, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation have called the proposed law "ill advised, counterproductive and costly." The bill would charge the state Department of Public Health with setting nurse staffing ratios.
Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the MHA, said hospitals "cannot abide by any piece of legislation that does not allow for the flexibility needed to tailor health care to meet the needs of patients."
In a more dire statement, Peter I. Buerhuas, a Vanderbilt University professor working with the MHA, said minimum staffing ratios would "lead to the self-inflicted economic, political and social destruction of the nursing profession."
Nursing unions support the legislation as a way to alleviate chronic under-staffing and improve patient safety at hospitals. Click here to read a WBJ story on the issue.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments